How grammatically stupid I am

[L Verge]

You are right - and I am developing a migraine!!

[Eva Elisabeth]

You are right - and I am developing a migraine!!

I'm sorry...I'll go to bed now and try not have any grammar nightmares...

[Gene C]

I thought "workings" was a verb?

[L Verge]

Don't you start with us, Gene!!! I am going to lie down and lay cold compresses upon my fevered brow. This reminds me too much of freshman English. It hurts even forty-plus years later.

[Eva Elisabeth]

You are right, Gene. 3rd person singular progressive - he is workings....good night!

[Rob Wick]

At the time I wrote it, the sentence seemed to fit rhythmically into the paragraph. Now I'm not so sure. Luckily, I still have a good bit of time to rework it, if I decide to do so.

I truly appreciate everyone's input, except maybe Gene's. Ah heck, even Gene's.

Best
Rob

[Rob Wick]

How about this?

"Looking at her papers at my leisure, I soon realized that herein lay the workings of another study."

Best
Rob

[Eva Elisabeth]

How about this?

"Looking at her papers at my leisure, I soon realized that herein lay the workings of another study."

Best
Rob

Although I pledged myself not to comment on this again and although the world sure will keep on turning even if I won't find out the following, but - I still don't know what "herein" refers to and thus if was her papers or your looking at them that needed all your efforts. Although I assume it was the papers, I still find the sentence, well...a bit odd. Also, "workings" and "study" IMO is a tautology. (Personally, I would prefer something like: "Reading her papers...,I soon realized they/this required another study".)

---

At the time I wrote it, the sentence seemed to fit rhythmically into the paragraph.

Forgive me, Rob, not your sentense, only this comment just reminded me of the story that Paul Mc Cartney's original text for "Yesterday" was "Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby, how I love your legs" because it fitted into the tune...

[RJNorton]

I checked with Ginger, and she approved almost everyone's suggestions. She did find a couple of misteaks in Gene's.

[Eva Elisabeth]

OMG, it's amazing what's out there on the internet...I'm better not going to check all my posts...nor am I going to check the future ones, I'm just too much of the old school...

[Gene C]

I checked with Ginger, and she approved almost everyone's suggestions. She did find a couple of misteaks in Gene's.

Misteaks????

I'm sure these folks are real smart at computers and programing, but I think Ginger just doesn't understand the rural southern dialect. The founder and CEO of Ginger is a lady
by the name of Yael Karov. The CIT is a guy named Ziv Isaiah , and the Vice President is Dudu Noy.

I rest my case.

[Eva Elisabeth]

I checked with Ginger, and she approved almost everyone's suggestions. She did find a couple of misteaks in Gene's.

I think Ginger just doesn't understand the rural southern dialect.

...and sure has no sense of (Gene's) humor or appreciation for poetic licence!

[RJNorton]

Misteaks????

Thank you for catching that, Gene. I left out an "s." I meant missteaks. My bad.

[Rob Wick]

Although I pledged myself not to comment on this again and although the world sure will keep on turning even if I won't find out the following, but - I still don't know what "herein" refers to and thus if was her papers or your looking at them that needed all your efforts. Although I assume it was the papers, I still find the sentence, well...a bit odd. Also, "workings" and "study" IMO is a tautology. (Personally, I would prefer something like: "Reading her papers...,I soon realized they/this required another study".)

Eva,

"Herein" refers to the papers. Really, all I was trying to say is that by having the time to go over them slowly and deliberately, I realized that in those papers lay the raw material for a separate book from the Sandburg volume I plan to write. I thought I was putting it in a better form, but obviously not.

That is why I put it out there. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in what I'm trying to do I don't think about how other people hear it. I knew what I was trying to say but obviously didn't say it as well as I need to.

Just a side note. This is part of my book proposal. The only person who will see it is the editor of the University of Illinois Press that I will send it to. Yet, since he makes the determination as to whether or not it moves forward, his eyes are pretty important.

Thanks for all the comments.

Best
Rob

[Eva Elisabeth]

by having the time to go over them slowly and deliberately, I realized that in those papers lay the raw material for a separate book

Rob, I like this wording much better.